Healthy Home, Healthy Family,
Healthy Income NO RISK, Awesome Support
For additional Info:
http://www.saferisbetter.com/freedon
or
Email me at:www.joybiz@hotmail.com
*** Staying at home, it can be done! Stayin Home and Lovin It, can help you do this. NO RISK, Awesome Support. Give us a call, would love to share details with you!!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Cosmetic Conflict
Cosmetics might not be as safe as we like to think.
By Maggie Koerth-Baker for MSN Health & Fitness
Find More
* Estrogen May Lower Younger Women's Heart Risk
* Hormone Therapy Extends Lives of Ovarian Cancer Patients
* Total Body Tune-Up
* Women's Health Message Boards
Roman women slowly poisoned themselves with generous slatherings of white lead foundation. Medieval Italians sensuously dilated their pupils—and blinded themselves—with an extract of belladonna. And the ladies of Queen Elizabeth’s court wore thick layers of red lip color made from toxic mercury compounds. All apparently were under the impression that their daily beauty regimen was 100 percent safe. Which begs the question: Are we similarly deluded today?
Cosmetic Conflict
Even if you don’t wear much makeup, chances are that you’re washing your hair with shampoo and conditioner, toning down your underarm stink with deodorant, and attempting to stave off old age with moisturizer. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a watchdog organization that monitors the use of chemicals in everyday life, those simple actions add up fast. A survey the organization conducted in 2004 showed that American women use an average of 12 hygiene products each day. By the EWG’s count, that translates to more than 150 ingredients being absorbed through the skin, inhaled through the nose or inadvertently licked off the lips.
As far as the EWG is concerned, all this represents a massive risk to public health. “Essentially, we’re conducting a giant experiment,” says Jane Houlihan, the organization’s vice president for research. “People are being exposed to hundreds of chemicals. Every person is full of complex mixtures and the health consequences are completely unknown.” Particularly of concern to the EWG and other activist groups are two families of chemicals known as phthalates and parabens.
Phthalates are a common ingredient in things like hairsprays, nail polish and perfume, where they function as a plasticizer—keeping the mixtures flexible while also helping them remain sticky. Parabens are preservatives that keep fungus and bacteria at bay in a wide variety of cosmetics and hygiene products.
The EWG points out that research on rats has shown both chemical families to be carcinogens. A 2004 study published in the journal Reproductive Technology linked phthalates with reproductive anomalies, and a study published that same year in the Journal of Applied Toxicology detected parabens in breast cancer tissue. In fact, parabens and phthalates were among the chemicals banned by the European Union in 2003. A quick Web search will turn up a number of organizations that have extrapolated this research into warnings that makeup or deodorant are the cause behind breast cancer.
Naturally, this makes the cosmetics aisle seem pretty scary. But not all scientists agree that the danger is so great. The Food and Drug Administration officially classifies parabens and phthalates as safe, because the research has yet to prove a causal link between the chemicals and diseases in humans. As it turns out, rats, while convenient for research, don’t actually process chemicals the same way we do. So what’s deadly to them could easily be harmless in us. Other organizations—like the industry-run Cosmetics Ingredient Review board and the independent American Council on Science and Health—agree, pointing out that the amounts of phthalates and parabens used in cosmetics are far, far lower than even the amount needed to induce cancer in rats.
Pretty Is as Pretty Does
advertisement
So, who’s right? The answer probably falls somewhere in between. “There’s a lot of people talking black and white, this is good or this is bad,” says Urvashi Rangan, an environmental health scientist who works with Consumer Reports magazine and its parent organization, the Consumers Union. “But a lot of the ingredients in cosmetics come down into a very gray zone.”
To Rangan, the fact that cosmetics use very low levels of chemicals doesn’t mean there’s zero risk. Instead, it means that we need more research to understand the effects of chronic, long-term exposure. On the other hand, chemicals aren’t inherently bad and Rangan thinks it’s inaccurate to say that using certain cosmetic products could be deadly.
“We don’t know all the reasons cancer happens,” she says. This means it’s impossible to identify a certain chemical as the precise—and sole—cause of a cancer. "To say these products are going to kill you is an overstatement. It's not likely that there's going to be a single reason behind why someone gets cancer."
Instead, Rangan says, the real problem lies in how we currently address the potential dangers associated with these chemicals. “Europe tends to operate on the precautionary principle and they tend not to make things legal until there’s a proof of safety,” she says. “Here, it’s the opposite. In order for the FDA to ban a chemical used in cosmetics it has to be proven harmful.”
And proving harm is tough. Usually, it requires thousands of people to develop a problem that can be linked definitively to a specific product or ingredient. Currently, the FDA has no authority to review cosmetics before they go to market and can only ban ingredients after problems arise. So, while most cosmetic products have been tested for short-term safety, their long-term effects are almost completely unknown. “There’s very little data to suggest safety or harm,” Rangan says. “There’s just a big question mark there.”
For now, whether or not you should keep using your favorite products depends a lot on how you use them and how much risk you’re comfortable with. For instance, occasionally using eyeliner with a questionable ingredient probably isn’t dangerous, but if you’re applying heavy amounts of a suspect lotion every day, you might want to consider taking steps to reduce your exposure.
One way to help gauge your risk is by looking up your brands on Skin Deep, the Environmental Working Group’s online database, which analyzes all the various risk factors associated with specific products.
Under Suspicion: 4 Ingredients to Keep an Eye On
Parabens
What They Are: Preservatives that keep products bacteria-free.
Where You’ll Find Them: Cleanser, hand soap, moisturizers and toothpaste
Names They Go By: Methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben.
What’s the Concern: Parabens can mimic natural hormones, including estrogen. Disruption of sex hormones increases the risk of certain cancers.
Phthalates
What They Are: Plasticizers that increase flexibility and strength.
Where You’ll Find Them: Hair spray, nail polish and perfumes.
Names They Go By: Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and diethyl phthalate are common in fragrances, while dibutyl phthalate appears in many nail polishes.
What’s the Concern: Can also mimic sex hormones and may be able to affect growth of reproductive systems in fetuses. Used in hundreds of non-cosmetic plastic products, so exposure is increased.
Coal Tar
What It Is: The liquid by-product of coal distillation.
Where You’ll Find It: Shampoos aimed at killing head lice or reducing dandruff and some dark hair dyes.
What’s the Concern: Extremely carcinogenic in rodents. Might also be linked to liver disease.
Toluene
What It Is: A solvent, basically a liquid that dissolves other liquids or solids.
Where You’ll Find It: Nail polish and nail polish remover.
Name It Goes By: It might appear under the names methylbenzene or phenylmethane.
What’s the Concern: Breathing in the fumes can damage kidneys and cause birth defects. People who work frequently with nail products are at most risk.
More on MSN Health & Fitness:
* Anti-Aging Guide
* Cosmetic Surgery at the Mall?
* In the Name of Beauty
* Plastic Surgery Secrets of the Stars
Maggie Koerth-Baker is a freelance writer and a contributing editor to mental_floss magazine. Her work has appeared in the Associated Press, AARP: The Magazine, and Health.
By Maggie Koerth-Baker for MSN Health & Fitness
Find More
* Estrogen May Lower Younger Women's Heart Risk
* Hormone Therapy Extends Lives of Ovarian Cancer Patients
* Total Body Tune-Up
* Women's Health Message Boards
Roman women slowly poisoned themselves with generous slatherings of white lead foundation. Medieval Italians sensuously dilated their pupils—and blinded themselves—with an extract of belladonna. And the ladies of Queen Elizabeth’s court wore thick layers of red lip color made from toxic mercury compounds. All apparently were under the impression that their daily beauty regimen was 100 percent safe. Which begs the question: Are we similarly deluded today?
Cosmetic Conflict
Even if you don’t wear much makeup, chances are that you’re washing your hair with shampoo and conditioner, toning down your underarm stink with deodorant, and attempting to stave off old age with moisturizer. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a watchdog organization that monitors the use of chemicals in everyday life, those simple actions add up fast. A survey the organization conducted in 2004 showed that American women use an average of 12 hygiene products each day. By the EWG’s count, that translates to more than 150 ingredients being absorbed through the skin, inhaled through the nose or inadvertently licked off the lips.
As far as the EWG is concerned, all this represents a massive risk to public health. “Essentially, we’re conducting a giant experiment,” says Jane Houlihan, the organization’s vice president for research. “People are being exposed to hundreds of chemicals. Every person is full of complex mixtures and the health consequences are completely unknown.” Particularly of concern to the EWG and other activist groups are two families of chemicals known as phthalates and parabens.
Phthalates are a common ingredient in things like hairsprays, nail polish and perfume, where they function as a plasticizer—keeping the mixtures flexible while also helping them remain sticky. Parabens are preservatives that keep fungus and bacteria at bay in a wide variety of cosmetics and hygiene products.
The EWG points out that research on rats has shown both chemical families to be carcinogens. A 2004 study published in the journal Reproductive Technology linked phthalates with reproductive anomalies, and a study published that same year in the Journal of Applied Toxicology detected parabens in breast cancer tissue. In fact, parabens and phthalates were among the chemicals banned by the European Union in 2003. A quick Web search will turn up a number of organizations that have extrapolated this research into warnings that makeup or deodorant are the cause behind breast cancer.
Naturally, this makes the cosmetics aisle seem pretty scary. But not all scientists agree that the danger is so great. The Food and Drug Administration officially classifies parabens and phthalates as safe, because the research has yet to prove a causal link between the chemicals and diseases in humans. As it turns out, rats, while convenient for research, don’t actually process chemicals the same way we do. So what’s deadly to them could easily be harmless in us. Other organizations—like the industry-run Cosmetics Ingredient Review board and the independent American Council on Science and Health—agree, pointing out that the amounts of phthalates and parabens used in cosmetics are far, far lower than even the amount needed to induce cancer in rats.
Pretty Is as Pretty Does
advertisement
So, who’s right? The answer probably falls somewhere in between. “There’s a lot of people talking black and white, this is good or this is bad,” says Urvashi Rangan, an environmental health scientist who works with Consumer Reports magazine and its parent organization, the Consumers Union. “But a lot of the ingredients in cosmetics come down into a very gray zone.”
To Rangan, the fact that cosmetics use very low levels of chemicals doesn’t mean there’s zero risk. Instead, it means that we need more research to understand the effects of chronic, long-term exposure. On the other hand, chemicals aren’t inherently bad and Rangan thinks it’s inaccurate to say that using certain cosmetic products could be deadly.
“We don’t know all the reasons cancer happens,” she says. This means it’s impossible to identify a certain chemical as the precise—and sole—cause of a cancer. "To say these products are going to kill you is an overstatement. It's not likely that there's going to be a single reason behind why someone gets cancer."
Instead, Rangan says, the real problem lies in how we currently address the potential dangers associated with these chemicals. “Europe tends to operate on the precautionary principle and they tend not to make things legal until there’s a proof of safety,” she says. “Here, it’s the opposite. In order for the FDA to ban a chemical used in cosmetics it has to be proven harmful.”
And proving harm is tough. Usually, it requires thousands of people to develop a problem that can be linked definitively to a specific product or ingredient. Currently, the FDA has no authority to review cosmetics before they go to market and can only ban ingredients after problems arise. So, while most cosmetic products have been tested for short-term safety, their long-term effects are almost completely unknown. “There’s very little data to suggest safety or harm,” Rangan says. “There’s just a big question mark there.”
For now, whether or not you should keep using your favorite products depends a lot on how you use them and how much risk you’re comfortable with. For instance, occasionally using eyeliner with a questionable ingredient probably isn’t dangerous, but if you’re applying heavy amounts of a suspect lotion every day, you might want to consider taking steps to reduce your exposure.
One way to help gauge your risk is by looking up your brands on Skin Deep, the Environmental Working Group’s online database, which analyzes all the various risk factors associated with specific products.
Under Suspicion: 4 Ingredients to Keep an Eye On
Parabens
What They Are: Preservatives that keep products bacteria-free.
Where You’ll Find Them: Cleanser, hand soap, moisturizers and toothpaste
Names They Go By: Methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben.
What’s the Concern: Parabens can mimic natural hormones, including estrogen. Disruption of sex hormones increases the risk of certain cancers.
Phthalates
What They Are: Plasticizers that increase flexibility and strength.
Where You’ll Find Them: Hair spray, nail polish and perfumes.
Names They Go By: Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and diethyl phthalate are common in fragrances, while dibutyl phthalate appears in many nail polishes.
What’s the Concern: Can also mimic sex hormones and may be able to affect growth of reproductive systems in fetuses. Used in hundreds of non-cosmetic plastic products, so exposure is increased.
Coal Tar
What It Is: The liquid by-product of coal distillation.
Where You’ll Find It: Shampoos aimed at killing head lice or reducing dandruff and some dark hair dyes.
What’s the Concern: Extremely carcinogenic in rodents. Might also be linked to liver disease.
Toluene
What It Is: A solvent, basically a liquid that dissolves other liquids or solids.
Where You’ll Find It: Nail polish and nail polish remover.
Name It Goes By: It might appear under the names methylbenzene or phenylmethane.
What’s the Concern: Breathing in the fumes can damage kidneys and cause birth defects. People who work frequently with nail products are at most risk.
More on MSN Health & Fitness:
* Anti-Aging Guide
* Cosmetic Surgery at the Mall?
* In the Name of Beauty
* Plastic Surgery Secrets of the Stars
Maggie Koerth-Baker is a freelance writer and a contributing editor to mental_floss magazine. Her work has appeared in the Associated Press, AARP: The Magazine, and Health.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Environmental Pollution in the Home / Alzheimers
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Older folks will sometimes joke about their "senior moments" such as not recognizing a familiar face, forgetting a phone number, or losing a set of keys. However, moments like these are no laughing matter for the 4 million Americans who suffer from Alzheimer's disease, let alone the 100,000 who die from it every year. Alzheimer's is the product of the damage and death of brain cells at a faster rate than normal, while the neurotransmitters used by brain cells to communicate (especially acetylcholine) are produced at a slower rate. The disease initially affects short-term memory, with the ability to create new memories being lost over a period of years. Long-term memories remain safe in other parts of the brain, but they become more difficult to access as the disease progresses. The results are devastating, as anyone familiar with a person suffering from Alzheimer's can attest. We all experience minor decreases in mental acuity due to normal aging, but Alzheimer's is characterized by progressive mental deterioration to the point of leaving a patient incapacitated. The disease can strike at any age, but it is most prevalent among the elderly.
Alzheimer's is not a condition that easily lends itself to talk of miracle cures or overnight recoveries. Nevertheless, a clean environment, whole-foods diet, lots of pure drinking water, regular exercise, the avoidance of prescription drugs, and an aggressive program of nutritional supplements can go a long way towards preventing the disease or reversing any damage that may have already been done. Merely stopping the progression of symptoms like memory loss and confusion alone could seem like a miracle for some who have experienced the terror associated with feeling their mental capacities steadily slip away. I've seen the lives of such people changed dramatically by following a natural course of treatment based on the information outlined here.
Commits by S.H. Bird, MFL
HERE IS A LIST OF KNOWN TOXINS IN SOME PRODUCTS WE USE IN OUR HOMES USE EVERYDAY
Dove Beauty Bar: Quaternium 15: (Formaldehyde)-Carcinogen. Causes cancer, dermatitis, neurotoxic, sensitizer-poisonious, and irritant to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Butylated Hydroxytoluene, (BHT) Carcinogen.
Johnson's Baby Shampoo: Quaternium(FORMALDEHYDE) 15: FD&C RED 40: Carcinogen, and causes dermatitis.
Crest Tarter Control Toothpaste: Saccharin: Carcinogen, contains Phenol Fluoride: Carcinogen if you accidentally swallow more than a pea-sized amount of this, you must contact the Poison Control Center immediately. This warning does not appear on the tube.
Tide & Cheer Detergent: Detergent: Can cause temporary respiratory tract irritation. Symptoms include stinging, swelling, or redness.
Sodium Silicate: Can be corrosive. Can cause burns to the eyes and tissue damage to the skin, as well as cause burns to the mouth, throat, and stomach if swallowed.
Sodium Sulfate: Corrosive, Severe eye, skin, and respiratory irritant. Can cause asthma attacks. Trisodium Nitrilotriacetate:
Carcinogen Clorox: Sodium Hypochlorite: Corrosive. Sensitizer: Can be fatal if swallowed. Eye, skin, and respiratory irritant. Especially hazardous to people with heart conditions or asthma.
Cascade: Sodium Hypochlorite: (see above) Sodium Silicate: Can be corrosive. Can cause burns to the eyes and tissue damage to the skin, as well as cause burns to the mouth, throat, and stomach if swallowed. Fantastic,
Formula 409: Butyl Cellosolve: Neurotoxic. Eye and skin irritant. Damages central nervous system, kidney, and liver. Readily absorbed through the skin. Damages blood and body's ability to make blood.
Windex Aerosol Glass Cleaner: Butyl Cellosolve (see above) Isobutane: Neurotoxin Lysol Disinfectant: Dioxin; Carcinogen. 500,000 times more deadly than DDT Ethyl Alcohol: Eye, skin, respiratory tract irritant.
Details on the above data are available in "The Safe Shopper's Bible" by Dr. Samuel Epstein, MD. & David Steinman. Macmillian, 1995.
Lysol data from "The Environmental Health Newsletter."
Learn more about the hazards of Cleaning Products:Watch This 2 minute Video:http://www.cbc.ca/MRL/clips/rm-lo/mesley_cleaner030311.rm
(You may need to download FREE RealPlayer athttp://www.realplayer.com/ to view it)
More info: http://www.joybiz.tripod.com/
Older folks will sometimes joke about their "senior moments" such as not recognizing a familiar face, forgetting a phone number, or losing a set of keys. However, moments like these are no laughing matter for the 4 million Americans who suffer from Alzheimer's disease, let alone the 100,000 who die from it every year. Alzheimer's is the product of the damage and death of brain cells at a faster rate than normal, while the neurotransmitters used by brain cells to communicate (especially acetylcholine) are produced at a slower rate. The disease initially affects short-term memory, with the ability to create new memories being lost over a period of years. Long-term memories remain safe in other parts of the brain, but they become more difficult to access as the disease progresses. The results are devastating, as anyone familiar with a person suffering from Alzheimer's can attest. We all experience minor decreases in mental acuity due to normal aging, but Alzheimer's is characterized by progressive mental deterioration to the point of leaving a patient incapacitated. The disease can strike at any age, but it is most prevalent among the elderly.
Alzheimer's is not a condition that easily lends itself to talk of miracle cures or overnight recoveries. Nevertheless, a clean environment, whole-foods diet, lots of pure drinking water, regular exercise, the avoidance of prescription drugs, and an aggressive program of nutritional supplements can go a long way towards preventing the disease or reversing any damage that may have already been done. Merely stopping the progression of symptoms like memory loss and confusion alone could seem like a miracle for some who have experienced the terror associated with feeling their mental capacities steadily slip away. I've seen the lives of such people changed dramatically by following a natural course of treatment based on the information outlined here.
Commits by S.H. Bird, MFL
HERE IS A LIST OF KNOWN TOXINS IN SOME PRODUCTS WE USE IN OUR HOMES USE EVERYDAY
Dove Beauty Bar: Quaternium 15: (Formaldehyde)-Carcinogen. Causes cancer, dermatitis, neurotoxic, sensitizer-poisonious, and irritant to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Butylated Hydroxytoluene, (BHT) Carcinogen.
Johnson's Baby Shampoo: Quaternium(FORMALDEHYDE) 15: FD&C RED 40: Carcinogen, and causes dermatitis.
Crest Tarter Control Toothpaste: Saccharin: Carcinogen, contains Phenol Fluoride: Carcinogen if you accidentally swallow more than a pea-sized amount of this, you must contact the Poison Control Center immediately. This warning does not appear on the tube.
Tide & Cheer Detergent: Detergent: Can cause temporary respiratory tract irritation. Symptoms include stinging, swelling, or redness.
Sodium Silicate: Can be corrosive. Can cause burns to the eyes and tissue damage to the skin, as well as cause burns to the mouth, throat, and stomach if swallowed.
Sodium Sulfate: Corrosive, Severe eye, skin, and respiratory irritant. Can cause asthma attacks. Trisodium Nitrilotriacetate:
Carcinogen Clorox: Sodium Hypochlorite: Corrosive. Sensitizer: Can be fatal if swallowed. Eye, skin, and respiratory irritant. Especially hazardous to people with heart conditions or asthma.
Cascade: Sodium Hypochlorite: (see above) Sodium Silicate: Can be corrosive. Can cause burns to the eyes and tissue damage to the skin, as well as cause burns to the mouth, throat, and stomach if swallowed. Fantastic,
Formula 409: Butyl Cellosolve: Neurotoxic. Eye and skin irritant. Damages central nervous system, kidney, and liver. Readily absorbed through the skin. Damages blood and body's ability to make blood.
Windex Aerosol Glass Cleaner: Butyl Cellosolve (see above) Isobutane: Neurotoxin Lysol Disinfectant: Dioxin; Carcinogen. 500,000 times more deadly than DDT Ethyl Alcohol: Eye, skin, respiratory tract irritant.
Details on the above data are available in "The Safe Shopper's Bible" by Dr. Samuel Epstein, MD. & David Steinman. Macmillian, 1995.
Lysol data from "The Environmental Health Newsletter."
Learn more about the hazards of Cleaning Products:Watch This 2 minute Video:http://www.cbc.ca/MRL/clips/rm-lo/mesley_cleaner030311.rm
(You may need to download FREE RealPlayer athttp://www.realplayer.com/ to view it)
More info: http://www.joybiz.tripod.com/
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Joyful Business at Home
Stayin Home and Lovin It!
My name is Liz Ortiz. I am a local business owner, and I am contacting other local businesses in the area. I work with a support team of moms, dads, and others who are in the business of creating a healthier environment for our friends and families. Parents and caregivers look for the obvious hazards for our children, not realizing there is more to safety than what the eye can see.
Please visit my web site for more information:
www.joyinhelpingothers.com
Contact me for more information, we love sharing what our team does and showing you how you can work with us.
Check out this video about Toxins in our home:
http://cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/cosmetics/index.html
My name is Liz Ortiz. I am a local business owner, and I am contacting other local businesses in the area. I work with a support team of moms, dads, and others who are in the business of creating a healthier environment for our friends and families. Parents and caregivers look for the obvious hazards for our children, not realizing there is more to safety than what the eye can see.
Please visit my web site for more information:
www.joyinhelpingothers.com
Contact me for more information, we love sharing what our team does and showing you how you can work with us.
Check out this video about Toxins in our home:
http://cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/cosmetics/index.html
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
